"Bite Me" by Paul Gertner
Suggested Retail USD$35.00
Available direct from Paul Gertner
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Bite Me", a new effect by Paul Gertner, is one of those rare pieces of magic that has so much going on the spectators don't know whether to giggle, gasp, or scream so they settle for just letting their brains freeze... after they giggle and gasp and scream.

I just love this effect. Gertner, as far as your humble reviewer is concerned, is a living legend when it comes to magic plots and "Bite Me" is a prime example of his work.

The ad for "Bite Me" has it right: "Sign the card. Bite the deck. Eat the pieces. Then... you start to freak them out." That's exactly how the routine in "Bite Me" is built.

A spectator selects a card, signs it, and then it's shuffled back into the deck. The performer brings out the "guarantee Joker" and has the spectator read the warning on the card: "These cards should not be thrown, inserted or ingested." And with that as the motivation for the routine, the performer takes a bite out of the deck and swallows the pieces. Every card in the deck is shown to have a bite mark in it. The performer opens his mouth and shows one piece still between the teeth: it's a portion of the signed card, complete with the part of signature still visible. The performer brings the deck back to his mouth and magically reattaches the piece to the card, showing it back to its relatively un-eaten condition.

I've often said (and even wrote an article to the effect) that the difference between the truly great in our art and the rest of us is the attention to detail they pay with interest to everything they do. I'm not talking "hold your pinkie this way" or "stand over there" kind of thing: I'm talking about every little piece of stagecraft they can think of. Gertner does that in "Bite Me", pays that amount of attention to that part of the business, and the result is a great piece of work.

Take the whole premise here. Gertner needed a reason to bite a deck of cards (only in the world of magic, folks, is that kind of thing even contemplated without medication becoming a necessity). He turned to legal disclaimers which all too often are simply hysterical to think about. Rather than just have it stated, which us lesser mortals would consider good enough, Gertner has a card which the spectator reads that verifies the odd disclaimer about "ingesting" the deck. And with that as a launch pad, "Bite Me" takes off for the moon.

That kind of thinking is all over "Bite Me" permeating it from the fairly simple handling to the complete structure of the routine, and Gertner's thinking makes "Bite Me" a wonderful piece of work.

Okay, okay... So I'm high on this one. It's darn near perfect so I feel justified.

On to the details.

As I said, the handling is simple enough. This isn't self-working by any stretch of the imagination, but it's also not a knuckle-breaker or even a knuckle-popper; it's easy enough that most that don't do a lot of card work will be able to do this one without much trouble.

As you probably can guess, there are gaffs in play here, including the deck itself. Part of this you'll need to make up yourself, but that process is easy enough and requires nothing more than another regular deck that matches the "Bite Me" deck, an Exacto knife, and a marker. You'll burn through these extra parts pretty quickly (one each performance), so just make a few of them at a time and you'll be ready to go.

Of course, since you're carrying an extra deck that can't be used for anything else, you'll need to decide if the pocket space is worth it (I'll save you the trouble: it is). Also there's a bit of a reset but it's not so difficult it couldn't be done moving from one group to the next (notice I didn't mention "table"; this is one I don't recommend for performing while somebody's munching on something more edible than pasteboard).

That deck, by the way, is excellently made from Bicycle stock, with the die-cut "teeth marks" looking great. Also excellently done is Gertner's instructions. This is supplied on DVD, is masterfully produced, and Gertner does the best job I've seen in ages when it comes to teaching his routine. This, folks, is the way video instruction ought to be done.

I could go on and on with this "Bite Me" -- it's just too good not to evoke that kind of praise -- but I won't. Suffice to say that, if you're looking for something different, something mindblowing, you don't have to look any further than Gertner's "Bite Me".

This one has it all.

"Bite Me" by Paul Gertner
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Practicality: 10
The set-up takes a minute or two (and you'll burn through one of the gaffs every performance so make up several at a time), reset is fairly quick and easy, angles aren't a big issue, the work is fairly minor... really, this is a very practical piece of work.

Workmanship: 10
The deck is extremely well made from a Bicycle deck. This looks really great.

Documentation: 10
Now this is how you make video documentation. Gertner does the ultimate job of teaching his routine, covering everything in a quick, yet unrushed, manner. This is, in a word, perfection.

Effect: 10
This one absolutely knocks them all for a loop. It begins with a giggle and ends with pure shock. Magic doesn't get better than this.

Presentation: 10
The premise is hysterical in itself and and the warning on the Joker, the entire reason for the effect, is all the impetus needed to remove spectators from reality.


Shane

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